Matthew Calderbank

More than £50,000 in cannabis has been seized after police raided a home in Clayton-le-Woods near Chorley.

Police executed a search warrant at the home in Preston Road on Saturday morning after receiving a tip-off from concerned members of the community.

Police estimate the street value of the seized cannabis could be worth approximately 50,000.

Officers raided the home and found a sophisticated cannabis grow in operation with "hundreds of plants".

Pictures released by police reveal cannabis plants in various stages of growth, from seedlings to the finished product, ready for sale on Lancashire's streets.

Officers said the pictures are just a "snapshot" of the crop seized, with the overall value expected to be worth more than £50,000.

The electricity supply had also been bypassed and "left in a very dangerous state", according to officers.

Police said the cannabis cultivators endangered neighbours by bypassing the electricity supply.

A police spokesman said: "Yesterday we executed a search warrant as a result of information received from the community.

"As a result we have interrupted some green fingered gardeners and have taken a significant quantity of cannabis off our streets.

"These kind of things always seem to divide opinion but what is clear is that this was a commercial grow and those involved in selling this will take advantage of some of the most vulnerable people in our community.

"There might be a debate to be had, but that is the job of the politicians.

"We’re here to enforce the laws, not make them."

Two men have been arrested and released on bail pending further enquiries.